A Lot Can Happen
by fluffily
Summary: I can't tell her, not because of my pride so much as because of my terror." "'I don't know.' And wasn't that the truth?" A group of oneshots, for now a bit angsty, romantic, dramatic, and involving Inu and Kags. A lot can happen in one chapter.
1. Someday Maybe I Won't Run Away

**Just a one-shot I wrote when I was real depressed. I blame my parents. Anyhoo, if I get enough enthusiasm, I might make a second chapter. Hope you like, it's kinda dark. I own nothing.**

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_The wind whistles through the trees, and I tremble. The bark of the Goshinboku is rough against my cheek as I huddle against it, waiting in the dark for something that will never come. Compassion, hope, love, safety, all that is good in the world that is not mine any longer can never show its face near me again. I bring misfortune wherever I go._

_I hope that the thing I know must happen will not, that this will turn out differently than I believe it must. If only I could believe differently…_

_I hear footsteps then, approaching quickly, not dawdling, but purposefully heading straight for the spot where I lay huddled among the monstrous roots of the God Tree. _

_This is the part I dread, and I moan, whimper, sob, and otherwise make sounds of pure terror to show it. To show whom, I do not know, because there is no one really there to hear me, and if there were, they would not care._

_By the time I force myself into a loaded silence, a dark figure stands over me, and rain begins to tumble upon the scene, soaking me and making me tremble harder. In a sudden and brilliant flash of lightning I see a pair of eyes glaring down at me, shining with a bloodthirsty hatred._

_There is a small laugh, a laugh like the rush of a stream on a hot summer's day, like birds singing melancholy tunes, like a light breeze caressing my soul, the very soul I fear cannot be saved._

_A scent washes over me then. One I know too well, the scent of vanilla, sakura blossoms, the heady scent of the forest, mint, every pleasant scent I have ever been able to name._

_And I remember the good times, walking with the one I love through a field after a storm, the scent of rain floating over everything and the sun gracing the two of us with its warm light. From a distance, I can see the two of us lying among brilliant white flowers, their sweet perfume so relaxing, talking and laughing. There we are, making up after our most recent fight, embracing and shedding tears for our own foolishness._

_I know the one standing over me remembers too, because they laugh again, bitterness leaking into their voice._

"_You were a fool then, and you are fool now."_

"_I'm sorry… Please…" Please what? What can I possibly want? I have no right to want anything from this person whom I have wronged so deeply._

"_You know what happens next, don't you?"_

_I do. Kami, I do, and I wish I didn't. Ignorance… it is indeed bliss. The closest thing I have left to bliss, happiness, calm, is ignorance, forgetfulness. But I don't want to forget. I can't forget. I owe them that much. I owe them so much more._

_I owe her my life, and this, this is the part where I give it, as she smiles in the next flash of blinding light and reveals something in her hand that glints sadistically. _

_It's over._

I am jolted awake as the knife swiftly ends it all for me.

I throw myself out of the tree I drifted off in and creep over to where she's sleeping. I just have to see her face, calm and content in unconsciousness, to soothe my racing heart and shaking legs.

As I kneel beside her, she stirs and opens her eyes, groggy and disoriented. I freeze, eyes wide, and back away, my head bent in shame. I mumble an awkward apology for waking her.

"InuYasha? What's… what's wrong? You're kinda pale." Kagome asks, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

I just shake my head and retreat to the highest branches of the tree, thanking Kami it's _not _the Goshinboku.

I can't tell her anything of how I feel, not because of my pride so much as because of my terror.

I can't let what happens in my dreams, always nightmares, happen in real life. Because it's already happened. Every day of my life for so long. It can't happen anymore. I just couldn't take it.

So I keep my distance.

Someday, maybe I won't run away.

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**I like Reviews. :D**


	2. Why?

**Okay, yes, I admit it, the decision to turn this into a collection of one-shots is in part due to the whole zero reviews thing. I liked that first one-shot, and I write a lot that I never post. So this will be my little collection of one-shots. Oh, and I _will_ get some reviews. Heh. So if you read this, review! Even flame! I've only ever received one flame that I can recall, so honestly I don't think I'll mind much. I need the criticism. Everyone does.**

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She slipped through the sliding door, made her way into the first room of the big house, making repeated weak attempts to slow the steady flow of tears making their way down her face. She disregarded the softly spoken inquiries of her family as she stumbled up the stairs, down the hall, and into the safety and privacy of her own room.

Weak rays of sunlight lit the little room dimly as the sun set on the horizon. She made her way to the window, knelt in front of it, and watched the black silhouettes of trees that were lush and green when the sun shone. Slowly, they faded away into a darkening sky.

"InuYasha," she sobbed, dropping her head into her hands, wilting in a matter of seconds. "InuYasha, why…?" She lifted her head just enough to catch a glimpse of the forlorn little building that housed the well she used to travel between two completely different worlds.

Kagome stood up abruptly and walked unsteadily toward her desk, sliding into the chair and sighing. For all appearances, she was completely exhausted.

Quite abruptly, the apparent fatigue disappeared, to be replaced with anger. She pushed the chair back, tears streaming down her flushed face, and brought her fist down on the hard wood of the desk. "_Why_?!"

All the questions rushed to the front of her mind, flooding her being with confusion, anger, and despair as her eyes flooded and spilled over. "_Why_?!" She shouted again. Around her, the house grew perfectly silent.

Outside her window, the long-haired figure of the hanyou so many emotions were directed at felt his eyes grow wide. He sank further into the shadows, dreading the very possibility that Kagome might discover his presence.

Finally separating a few questions from the mess in her head, Kagome collapsed on her bed, her face buried in a pillow.

"Why do you love to hurt me? Why are you so rude? Why do you always go after Kikyou when you should know by now how I'll feel about it? Why do you lie to me, insult me, take advantage of me, and then never allow me a few days of relaxation and escape in my own time?

"Why do I even bother coming to see you? Why do I want to fall behind in school in order to risk my life every day? Why do I feel like it's almost entirely just for you when you don't even make yourself worth it half the time?"

InuYasha's breath caught in his throat. "Kagome…" he mumbled almost too quietly for even his ears to detect.

"InuYasha…"

The hanyou's ears pricked up. He blinked and stumbled back, nearly losing his balance. She couldn't know he was there, could she?

"InuYasha… even though you're a jerk… even though you treat everyone, including me, awfully half the time, and even though I don't even know how you feel about me when you're always running off to Kikyou… InuYasha…"

She stopped talking momentarily, and InuYasha leaned forward ever so slightly, entranced. _What does she do despite all that? Dammit, keep talking!_

Almost as if on cue, the girl lifted herself and moved again in the direction of the window.

"Even though you're all wrong for me… so much so that it's hard to admit it aloud… even now that I've known it for so long… I love you. Why is that?

"Why do I love you?"

InuYasha drew in a sharp breath, nearly choking. "Wh-what?!" It took him half a second to realize his mistake.

Kagome froze. "InuYasha…"

The hanyou felt a sudden wave of nausea. What the hell had he just done? _What was I thinking?! She'll kill me!_

"InuYasha… you… you're here… aren't you?" the miko choked. "Just… come in." She leaned forward and slipped the window open.

InuYasha hesitated for a split second before he reasoned with himself that she'd be more angry if he tried to run away. It was best to go for the easiest punishment rather than postpone a more painful one – namely, a great deal of 'sit' commands. He ducked into Kagome's little room, his expression one of a schoolboy caught in an indecent act.

Her eyes were rimmed with red, and now her cheeks held the same bright color.

"Kagome, I'm-"

"Wait a second, InuYasha," she interrupted. She drew a deep breath before her mood changed abruptly once again. Suddenly she seemed more fragile than ever to InuYasha, so sad and delicate that he was afraid she'd injure herself as she fell against him, sobbing. "I'm sorry."

Forget her breakability. InuYasha threw his arms around her with a little cry of his own, closing his eyes in a desperate attempt to stop the tears. "Kagome, you didn't mean it. You couldn't have."

Kagome didn't reply. She didn't know what to say. Should she lie, tell him that she had known he was there all along, that she had been playing around and that was that? Or should she finally bite the bullet and admit to this boy that she cared for him as more than a friend?

Oh, what the hell?

"I did, though."

"But… why?"

"I don't know."

And wasn't that the truth?

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**Well, me thinks that went fairly well. Please review even if you hated it, okay?**


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